Alert raised as North Korea missile threat grows

Share via

North Koreans at a dance on Tuesday to mark the 1994 transition of power from Kim Il Sung, the North’s founder, to Kim Jong Il. A missile test is anticipated on or before the first Mr Kim’s 101st birthday on MondayKCNA/EPA

2 of 9

North Korea soldiers stand on the bank of Yalu River, opposite the Chinese border city of DandongReuters

3 of 9

North Koreans patrol the Yalu River on boatReuters

4 of 9

Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera inspects the missile launchers deployed at his ministry in TokyoAFP/Getty Images

It was a clear sign that Japan is taking North Korea's belligerent rhetoric seriouslyAP

7 of 9

Shinzo Abe, the Japanese Prime Minister, said that the Government would make the "utmost effort" to ensure the safety of its citizensAP

8 of 9

Japan's move came as North Korea pulled 50,000 workers out of a joint industrial complexYung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images

9 of 9

South Korean soldiers patrol the road leading to the joint industrial complexJung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images

Richard Lloyd ParrySeoul

Published at 12:01AM, April 11 2013

North Korea is very likely to test-fire two medium-range missiles capable of
striking the American garrison island of Guam, South Korea said yesterday,
as Seoul and Washington raised their level of military watchfulness in
anticipation of a further increase in military tension.

“According to intelligence obtained by our side and the US, the possibility of
a missile launch by North Korea is very high,” Yun Byung Se, the South
Korean Foreign Minister, told MPs. “Such a possibility could materialise at
any time from now.”

The South Korea-US Combined Forces Command raised their level of surveillance
from “WatchCon” 3 to level